A man looks at an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, showing Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 217.41 points to 9298.93 in the morning. Asian stock markets have rebounded from their steep fall last week after the United Arab Emirates moved to contain the fallout from Dubai's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)— AP

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A man looks at an electronic stock indicator in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, showing Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average gained 217.41 points to 9298.93 in the morning. Asian stock markets have rebounded from their steep fall last week after the United Arab Emirates moved to contain the fallout from Dubai's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)
/ AP

HONG KONG 
Asian stock markets rebounded Monday from their steep fall last week after the United Arab Emirates moved to contain the fallout from Dubai's debt crisis. European markets were lower.

Major Asian markets jumped about 3 percent or more after tumbling on Friday amid fears Dubai's debt problems could lead to more financial instability and were a sign of hidden trouble elsewhere in a still fragile world economy.

The UAE's central bank helped soothe investor fears, at least for now, by pledging Sunday to make extra funding available to all banks in the country, including foreign institutions with local branches.

However, the bank's announcement, aimed at shoring up confidence and averting a bank run, did not mention any specific help for Dubai. The beleaguered emirate, which splurged on flashy developments and other investments during the credit boom, said last week it now needed at least a six-month reprieve from paying some of its roughly $60 billion debt.

In its first day of trade since last week's bombshell, Dubai's stock exchange dropped nearly 6 percent on Monday.

A number of analysts said Dubai's woes were unlikely to create a global contagion even if some of its creditors got stuck with losses. Exposure to Dubai is believed to be greatest among European banks and fairly insignificant among most Asian companies.

"Definitely the market overreacted," said Mixo Das, an Asia analyst at Nomura International in Hong Kong. "That sort of sell off was definitely not called for."

As trading started in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent, Germany's DAX lost 0.7 percent and France's CAC-40 fell 0.9 percent. Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly higher open in the U.S. Monday. Dow futures were up 13, or 0.1 percent, at 10,305 and S&P futures gained 1.8, or 1.7 percent, to 1,091.20.

In India, the stock market was 2 percent higher after the government said the country's economy grew 7.9 percent last quarter, far exceeding expectations.

Among stocks, banks hit especially hard during last week's selling were stronger in Asia, with London-based lenders HSBC and Standard Chartered up more than 4 percent in Hong Kong. Both have exposure in Dubai, though analysts suggest any losses would likely be manageable.

Asia's turnaround followed Europe, where markets recovered Friday.

Uncertainty surrounding Dubai's fate sent Wall Street lower, though the losses were less than other markets.